College Costs Continue to Rise

…as public universities saw 2.5% increases in tuition and room and board between 2018-19 and 2019-20, and private non-profit four-year colleges saw a 3.3% increase. Public universities remain significantly cheaper than private non-profit four-year colleges, charging almost $22,000 for tuition, room, and board for in-state students and $38,330 for out-of-state students. Private colleges averaged $49,870 per year in 2019-20. It is yet to be seen how colleges will respond to the financial effects of the novel coronavirus, but as of the spring semester, the majority of colleges charged full tuition, claiming they cannot afford a massive cost reduction.

Total Cost (Tuition + Fees + Room/Board) in 2019 Dollars

Data: All data is from the College Board's annual Trends in College Pricing Report. "Private Nonprofit Four-Year" and "Public Four-Year In-State" figures are taken from the 2019 report and converted into 2019 dollars by the College Board. For "Public Four-Year Out-of-State" data, the author compiled sticker prices from previous College Board reports and converted to 2019 USD via an inflation calculator.

Note: Data unavailable for Public Four-Year Out-of-State costs before 1990.

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